Forecasting model to assess the potential of secondary lead production from lead acid battery scrap

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Lead acid battery (LAB) scrap management is an important issue both environmentally and economically. The recovery of lead from battery scrap leads to...     

Could curcumin ameliorate titanium dioxide nanoparticles effect on the heart? A histopathological,immunohistochemical, and genotoxic study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The evaluation of the toxicological effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) is increasingly important due to their growing occupational...     

A novel one-step synthesis for carbon-based nanomaterials from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles waste

Nowadays our planet suffers from an accumulation of plastic products that have the potential to cause great harm to the environment in the form of air, water, and land pollution. Plastic water bottles have become a great problem in the environment because of the large numbers consumed throughout the world. Certain types of plastic bottles can be recycled but most of them are not. This paper describes an economical solvent-free process that converts polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles waste into carbon nanostructure materials via thermal dissociation in a closed system under autogenic pressure together with additives and/or catalyst, which can act as cluster nuclei for carbon nanostructure materials such as fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. This research succeeded in producing and controlling the microstructure of various forms of carbon nanoparticles from the PET waste by optimizing the preparation parameters in terms of time, additives, and amounts of catalyst.

Implications: Plastic water bottles are becoming a growing segment of the municipal solid waste stream in the world; some are recycled but many are left in landfill sites. Recycling PET bottles waste can positively impact the environment in several ways: for instance, reduced waste, resource conservation, energy conservation, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing the amount of pollution in air and water sources. The main novelty of the present work is based on the acquisition of high-value carbon-based nanomaterials from PET waste by a simple solvent-free chemical technique. Thus, the prepared materials are considered to be promising, cheap, eco-friendly materials that may find use in different applications.     

Detection of organic pollutants in sandy soils via TDR and eigendecomposition

In this study, organic pollutants in sandy soils are detected using a time domain relectrometry (TDR) probe system and eigendecomposition technique. As a demonstration, four types of organic fluids (motor oil, diesel oil, methanol and ethanol) were examined. Samples were prepared with different combinations of deionized water and organic fluid contents. For each experiment, reflected signals were captured by an oscilloscope, and their characteristics were identified using eigendecomposition technique. Autoregressive modeling and singular value decomposition methods were utilized for calculating the eigenvalues. The most significant eigenvalues were then identified based on their relative magnitude. Experimental results indicated that the presented system is sensitive to both water and pore fluid organic contents. For saturated conditions, signature curves were determined for identification of organic and/or water contents in soil pore fluids.     

Use of the aquatic lichen Dermatocarpon luridum as bioindicator of copper pollution: accumulation and cellular distribution tests

Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the potential use of the aquatic lichen Dermatocarpon luridum as bioindicator of copper pollution. Lichen thalli were exposed to 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 mM copper in synthetic freshwater to solve the problems of metal bioavailability. The mineral composition of this media was prepared so that it corresponded to the ion composition of natural waters in D. luridum ecosystems. Sequential elution procedures using NiCl2 or Na2-EDTA (20 mM) were used to determine the distribution of metals at different cellular sites. The copper concentration extracted from thalli was correlated with pollution intensity, the greater correlation being with the Na2-EDTA extractant. The malondialdehyde concentration in thalli can be used as indicator of copper pollution; however, similar membrane degradation was observed for 0.25 and 0.50 mM copper and for 0.75 and 1.00 mM copper.     

Enhanced experimental flexibility and control in ecotoxicological mesocosm experiments--a new outdoor and indoor pond and stream system

Scope The German Federal Environmental Agency has put into operation a new modular mesocosm system consisting of eight outdoor and eight indoor ponds and streams in order to investigate fate and effects of chemicals and municipal wastewater in aquatic ecosystems. General design and special characteristics are given to demonstrate the wide range of possibilities for experimental research. - General design. Each of the 16 streams with riffle and pool sections can be varied in length up to 106 m. The streams can be run as circular or flow-through systems at a flow velocity of 0.02 to 0.6 m/s. Physico-chemical standard parameters are measured on-line. The 16 ponds, which can be connected to the stream systems, are equipped with drainage and pore water-sampling devices for simulating processes in the littoral zone including influent and effluent ground water flow. Perspectives Since the highly flexible and controllable construction also allows treating a wide range of hydrological and ecological experiments external institutions are invited to submit proposals.     

二氧化氯溶液脱除1,2,4-三氯苯的试验研究

通过模拟实际烟气,在液相鼓泡反应器中对1,2,4-三氯苯进行脱除试验研究.采用亚氯酸盐法制备了氧化剂ClO2,自行设计并安装了液相鼓泡反应装置.结果表明,ClO2溶液初始pH值、反应温度、1,2,4-三氯苯初始浓度等对1,2,4-三氯苯的脱除效率影响较大.在适宜条件下,1,2,4-三氯苯的脱除效率达到90%以上;反应的主要中间产物为丁二酸.     

基于SPH方法与GPU并行计算的复杂阶梯流数值模拟

为了更有效地模拟和分析地铁站内复杂楼梯上洪水流动的动力学特征,采用光滑粒子流体动力学方法(SPH)并借助GPU并行计算技术对复杂形态(带1、2、3个休息平台的直行、直角转弯L型)阶梯上洪水流动特征和漫延过程进行数值建模和计算分析。基于SPH方法和GPU并行加速的复杂阶梯流模型的数值模拟结果表明:该模型不但可以计算获得更好的阶梯流流态,而且具有较高的计算效率;不同休息平台数、不同形态阶梯上洪水水流呈现差别较大的水流特征;该模型借助GPU并行加速,适合研究大尺度复杂楼梯上洪水漫延问题,可为分析和评估洪水水流对地铁站楼梯上被困人员疏散过程的影响提供有力的工具。     

The ecological implications of land use change in the Source Regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, China

The alpine ecosystems in permafrost regions are extremely sensitive to climate change. The headwater regions of Yangtze River and Yellow River of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are on the permafrost area. Aerial photos of the Source Regions of the Yangtze and Yellow River taken in 1968 and three phases of TM images acquired from 1986, 2000, and 2008 were used to analyze the spatial alterations of the land cover and corresponding effects on the environment guided by landscape ecology theory. Firstly, land cover types were divided into three classes and 11 subclasses. Analysis results revealed the trends and magnitude of the eco-environmental changes in the regions over the past four decades and showed a continuous degradation of grasslands and the extension of desertification and salinization. Secondly, five landscape pattern indices (i.e., NP, MPS, PR, SHEI, CONTAG) commonly used in landscape ecological studies were calculated, and results showed that this region had become more centralized and diversified. Finally, the factors causing the degradation of alpine grasslands were analyzed. The regional climate exhibited a tendency toward significant warming and desiccation with the air temperature increased by 0.03 °C per year and relative stable precipitation over the last 40 years. And the temperature of permafrost in 0–20 cm soil layer obviously raised by 0.2–0.3 °C in the last 40 years. The combined effects of climate warming and permafrost variation were the major drivers for the changes of landscape in alpine ecosystems.     

Local Area Quotas for Industrial Emissions along Reaches of the Pearl River in Guangdong

Abstract

There is an obvious departure from the regional equilibrium of developments between the upper and lower reaches of the Pearl River in Guangdong, which resulted in “the effects of contra-geography-grads development”. It is mainly because the upriver mountainous areas have been deeply stuck in industrialization delay and marginalization plights, so that nearly 40 million local people have conceived a dream to get rid of “the vicious circle of poverty” by speeding up industrial development. But the problem is that such industrialization efforts on a large scale in mountainous areas are encountering the bottleneck of environmental capacity that strictly limits industrial emissions along the upper reaches of any water system. As a solution, an institutional arrangement called “the Local Area Quotas for Industrial Emis-sions along the Pearl River” is put forward supposed to give corresponding compensation to the rights of industrial development yielded by some areas with lower environmental capacity through the distribution and trading of IDQs.